1. Social Stratification Survey For each question, answer with one of the following: a. Never/No b. Rarely c. Often d. Always/Yes
I can tell a lot about a person by the clothes he/she wears.
I would describe my family as middle class.
I would describe my family as wealthy.
I mostly spend time with people who have a similar lifestyle as I do.
I am prejudiced against certain groups of people.
Some of my friends or family members are prejudiced in their speech or behaviors.
When I see a homeless person, I think he/she probably made poor decisions that led him/her to that lifestyle.
I believe that people on welfare or other government assistance are lazy.
People have a lot of control over their own economic success.
In America, if a person works hard, he/she will achieve economic success.

2. Social Stratification Survey For each question, answer with one of the following: a. Never/No b. Rarely c. Often d. Always/Yes
When I see a wealthy person, I assume he/she must be smarter or more talented than the general population.
There are clear social classes in the US.
It is easy to move up from one social class to another in the United States.
A person is paid according to how important his/her job is to society.
Adults who work minimum wage jobs deserve a pay increase to keep up with the living wage.
Wealth inequality exists because some people are willing to exploit others for their own gain.
Wealthy people in the United States use the legal system to their advantage.
Wealth inequality is a major issue in the United States.

3. Bell Ringer: Prestige
Prestige is the recognition, respect and admiration attached to specific positions within society Prestige is based on the values within a particular society (or group)
The office of the President has a lot of prestige (at least it used to)

4. Prestige and Ratings for Selected Occupation
Prestige Ratings Rate each of the following jobs on a scale of on the prestige each job carries (100 for highest-1 for lowest)
Prestige and Ratings for Selected Occupation
Occupation
Rating
Physician
Child Care Worker
Lawyer
Farmer
Registered Nurse
Police Officer
Janitor
Sociologist
Garbage Collector
Actor
Waiter/Waitress
Firefighter
High School Teacher
Electrician
Airline Pilot
Mail Carrier
Computer Programmer
Musician/ Composer
Retail apparel Worker
Accountant

5. Prestige and Ratings for Selected Occupation
Actual Ratings
Prestige and Ratings for Selected Occupation
Occupation
Rating
Physician 86
Child Care Worker 36
Lawyer 75
Farmer 40
Registered Nurse 66
Police Officer 60
Janitor 22
Sociologist 61
Garbage Collector 28
Actor
Waiter/Waitress
Firefighter 53
High School Teacher
Electrician 51
Airline Pilot
Mail Carrier 47
Computer Programmer
Musician/ Composer
Retail apparel Worker 30
Accountant 65

6. Prestige and Ratings for Selected Occupation
Prestige vs. Wealth
Prestige and Ratings for Selected Occupation
Occupation
Rating
Physician 86
Child Care Worker 36
Lawyer 75
Farmer 40
Registered Nurse 66
Police Officer 60
Janitor 22
Sociologist 61
Garbage Collector 28
Actor
Waiter/Waitress
Firefighter 53
High School Teacher
Electrician 51
Airline Pilot
Mail Carrier 47
Computer Programmer
Musician/ Composer
Retail apparel Worker 30
Accountant 65
Why do lawyers and physicians have high prestige but child care workers and garbage workers have low prestige?
Are there high paying jobs with low prestige?
Are there low paying jobs with high prestige?
What do these prestige ratings tell you about American values?
Survey of American adults—Pew research center
No definition of prestige given

7. Sociological issues Surveys
You have 30 minutes in the library to refine and finalize your survey questions!
Conserve space!
10 point font
Narrow margins
Column layout, if possible
Give response options whenever possible (this will help with data analysis!) to
You will be graded on the quality of your questions and how well they align with your sociological questions

8. Bell Ringer!
What social classes exist in America (name them, if you can)?
What factors besides wealth determine a person’s social class?

9. Stratification Game
You will be randomly assigned a role in our society
A sticker will be placed on your back (don’t look at it!)
You will mingle with the rest of society, but you must treat everyone according to their role (how you talk to them and what you talk about)
You must not tell others their roles, nor give away details that will make it obvious!
Pay attention to the way people treat you and react accordingly
Your goal is to figure out where you belong within the social structure

10. Stratification Game Social Class Description Income Range
UU-Upper Upper
Top 1% in terms of wealth; “old money”; wealth inherited and passed down
$500,000+
LU-Lower Upper
Top 1% as well; “new money”; wealth has been earned during lifetime; often more wealthy than “upper-upper”
UM-Upper Middle
Doctors, lawyers, management; highly educated; highly skilled
$100,000+
MM-Middle Middle
Teachers, police, firefighters, etc. moderate-highly educated; moderate skills
$30,000-70,000
WC-Working Class
Skilled trades; lower education level
$15,000-30,000
WP-Working Poor
Service industry workers; manual labor; low skill; low education
$15,000 or less
UC-Underclass
Usually unemployed (often cyclical); sometimes homeless; often on gov’t assistance $0

11. Now, line up according to your social rank!
Stratification Game
Now, line up according to your social rank!
UU-Upper Upper
LU-Lower Upper
UM-Upper Middle
MM-Middle Middle
WC-Working Class
WP-Working Poor
UC-Underclass

12. Stratification & Wealth inequality
As you watch the video, think about these questions and be ready to discuss:
Is wealth inequality a problem in the United States?
If so, what can be done about it?

14. Stratification Visual
With a partner, create a visual representation of social stratification in the United States (pp ).
Include the following:
Classes: Upper (combines UU and LU), Upper Middle, Middle Middle, Working Class, Working Poor, Underclass
Label percentage of population this group makes up (according to your book).
Describe each class in terms of education, skills and civic participation.
Give some examples of jobs a person in this class might have.
Your visual must tell us something about the classes relative to each other (could use size, color, symbols, etc. to convey this)